Looking to build another rig

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

IIRC the Hitachi mfenn listed out performed the WD drive you listed. Then again, it's been a while since I last checked those reviews

edit: someone correct me if i am wrong

 

[Stg-Flame]

The WD has double the cache and is SATA 6GB instead of the 3GB one he listed. I assume this is better, but again, I'm not entirely sure. This would save me $30 so if someone can chime in here, it would be appreciated.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

The WD has double the cache and is SATA 6GB instead of the 3GB one he listed. I assume this is better, but again, I'm not entirely sure. This would save me $30 so if someone can chime in here, it would be appreciated.

What matters alot is the disk density. If you have room for 1tb on a single platter it will be faster than 1tb across 3 platters because of the amount of information being stored in the same platter size e.g. 3.5" That's why the Samsung 1Tb F3 drives were popular. I think they used 500gb platters (not sure if that was single sided or both sides of the platter) and don't quote me on the exact size of but it was somewhere around there.

I use to reference storage review for reviews and their data base but it's been a while.

 

[lehtv]

The WD has double the cache and is SATA 6GB instead of the 3GB one he listed. I assume this is better, but again, I'm not entirely sure. This would save me $30 so if someone can chime in here, it would be appreciated.

Seagate makes a drive that is faster than both WD and Hitachi and costs only $70

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Seagate makes a drive that is faster than both WD and Hitachi and costs only $70

WOW! Really? Where did you find that out at? I haven't been to or researched drives in a while.. :hmm:

 

[lehtv]

ST1000DM003 has been around almost since single 1TB platters were introduced (late 2011). Normally costs $80-90, NCIX was the lowest I could find it at the moment (using www.pcpartpicker.com)

 

[Stg-Flame]

Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive at Newegg for $90.

If this is far superior to the WD I have listed, I will make the revised changes.

Also, since I changed my GPU to a 690, I am wondering if the PSU is sufficient now as the card requires a minimum 650W PSU and I have just the bare minimum. Would it be a better idea to grab something slightly more powerful to give myself a bit of leeway?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Yeah, if you are going to go with that *cough* choice, might want to think about a bigger PSU

 

[lehtv]

690 is not a good idea, 670 sli performs practically the same for $200 less, and that isn't needed for 1080 gaming anyway. Although in some demanding titles and for particularly demanding users, 670 sli could be worth it at 1080p @ 120hz. If you buy a 1080p @ 60hz monitor, a single 670 is all you need for a long time and when the time to upgrade comes, you'll want a faster single GPU. If you buy a 120hz / 3d display or a 2560 wide display, I recommend going with one 670 now and leaving open the possibility for another one (SLI capable mobo and PSU)

 

[Stg-Flame]

So if I knocked the 690 down to a 670 and went for SLI later, you don't foresee a problem with my motherboard and case accommodating a second GPU?

What about going for a full ATX as opposed to a mid ATX (people on the other sub forums are recommending a full ATX for my build).

I guess I could go with a 670 now and wait for the 690s to drop in price and go for those later on since everyone says the 670 will be more than sufficient to max out the current-gen games so long as I couple it with a 2560X1440 monitor (which will be coming a few weeks after my new setup).

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

What still sucks is if you do end up going SLI you might need a larger PSU than the 650w listed. I wouldn't want to run a PSU close to [peak wattage (100%)] ratings for long extended periods of time. You'll have to look at power consumption graphs or charts for your particular game that runs a similar set-up. That'll be hard to find but if you are serious you'll want a better idea of where your usage range will be.

 

[lehtv]

So if I knocked the 690 down to a 670 and went for SLI later, you don't foresee a problem with my motherboard and case accommodating a second GPU?

The case is fine for SLI. The motherboard will have to support SLI, Asrock Z77 Extreme4 is the minimum and it's a good board.

What about going for a full ATX as opposed to a mid ATX (people on the other sub forums are recommending a full ATX for my build).

There is no full ATX and mid ATX. Both are just ATX. What you're referring to is the distinction between a full tower and a mid tower. Full towers typically support even bigger standards than ATX, e.g. EATX and XLATX.

I guess I could go with a 670 now and wait for the 690s to drop in price and go for those later on since everyone says the 670 will be more than sufficient to max out the current-gen games so long as I couple it with a 2560X1440 monitor (which will be coming a few weeks after my new setup).

So you're buying a 2560x1440 monitor? OK. A single 670 is alright for that resolution but two is preferable for demanding games at high settings.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Then if I go SLI 670 right off the bat, then my concern is now temperatures since I don't plan on liquid cooling my rig any time soon. I believe the two 200mm fans in my case with the 120mm in the rear is more than sufficient for a single card, but I know all-too-well how hot eVGA cards can get.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

but I know all-too-well how hot eVGA cards can get.

that's an over-generalization.. if you were more specific like mentioning Fermi based cards then i'd say of course..

 

[lehtv]

Then if I go SLI 670 right off the bat, then my concern is now temperatures since I don't plan on liquid cooling my rig any time soon. I believe the two 200mm fans in my case with the 120mm in the rear is more than sufficient for a single card, but I know all-too-well how hot eVGA cards can get.

GTX 670 is only around 150-160W per card and with externally exhausting evga coolers you won't have temperature problems in an antec 900

 

[Cerb]

Last post before bed. I should probably get a new mouse pad as the one I have is quite old and I've heard of people using laser mice on cloth pads having trouble with precision. Any suggestions for a different mouse pad is also appreciated.

The Logitech G500 will be fine on a fairly tight-weave black cloth pad. This will not always be true, but it is true of the sensor used in most of the Logitech G-series laser mice.

If you like cloth pads, you should get a mouse that works well with them. You won't lose kills with a G400, but make them with a >5000 DPI expensive greatest-laser-in-the-world mouse. In fact, the lack of prediction (angle snapping) and out of the box fast polling is what really makes the G400 far superior to the MX518; the 3600 DPI is just a nice bonus.

Das Keyboard Ultimate S $135 - mechancial switches, no printing on the keycaps

http://www.daskeyboard.com/model-s-professional-soft/
Why not also have key caps?

However, I do have one last question. Why are people recommending 8GB RAM over the 16GB I originally chose? I was under the impression that Windows 7 was able to utilize 16GB.

Without running several VMs, or using serious content creation software, it is very hard to make good use of >8GB. I need 2-3 VMs running to really make it feel cramped, much less start running out of memory. 8GB is pretty nice, because it allows programs which can now use 2-4GB well to do so for themselves, and then also be able to use the rest of the memory for files, so that you rarely need to hit the disk for often-read data, and so that you won't get occasional performance oddities from paging.

Beyond that, +1 to everything mfenn and lehtv have said, so far.

 

[mfenn]

ST1000DM003 has been around almost since single 1TB platters were introduced (late 2011). Normally costs $80-90, NCIX was the lowest I could find it at the moment (using www.pcpartpicker.com)

:thumbsup: Agree that the ST1000DM003 is the way to go. It was OOS at the 'egg when I compiled my original list, which is why I went for the Hitachi instead.

 

[mfenn]

http://www.daskeyboard.com/model-s-professional-soft/
Why not also have key caps?

The original OP (now wiped out by an edit) mentioned really enjoying his current unlabeled keyboard, so I figured I'd stick with that.

 

[mfenn]

Then if I go SLI 670 right off the bat, then my concern is now temperatures since I don't plan on liquid cooling my rig any time soon. I believe the two 200mm fans in my case with the 120mm in the rear is more than sufficient for a single card, but I know all-too-well how hot eVGA cards can get.

Easy solution, don't buy an EVGA card. You can get a GTX 670 (or two) with a dual-fan cooler for the same money.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Then it seems I'll swap out my WD with the Seagate ST1000DM003 I found on Newegg.

Other than that, it looks like I will be swapping my 690 🙁 for two 670s.

 

[Stg-Flame]

The original OP (now wiped out by an edit) mentioned really enjoying his current unlabeled keyboard, so I figured I'd stick with that.

I do love this keyboard, but I wish to try out a mechanical. My buddy informed me he was hesitant to swap out his old keyboard with a newer Razer mechanical, but since the switch, he doesn't ever want to go back to the old keyboards again. I figured I would trust his judgement and go with a mechanical as well.

 

[mfenn]

I do love this keyboard, but I wish to try out a mechanical. My buddy informed me he was hesitant to swap out his old keyboard with a newer Razer mechanical, but since the switch, he doesn't ever want to go back to the old keyboards again. I figured I would trust his judgement and go with a mechanical as well.

Just to be clear, the keyboards that Cerb and I mentioned are both mechanical. In fact, they are basically the same thing except that I linked the version with unlabeled keycaps where as he linked the normal (labeled) version.

 

[Cerb]

The original OP (now wiped out by an edit) mentioned really enjoying his current unlabeled keyboard, so I figured I'd stick with that.

Ah, OK.

I do love this keyboard, but I wish to try out a mechanical. My buddy informed me he was hesitant to swap out his old keyboard with a newer Razer mechanical, but since the switch, he doesn't ever want to go back to the old keyboards again. I figured I would trust his judgement and go with a mechanical as well.

I grew up with old PCs, and use a Model M. I recently did an upgrade for a customer from an AT, too (forced upgrade by a family member), and the one problem was the new keyboard, as the old one was a nice soft mechanical keyboard. Adapters from Monoprice to the rescue.

Key presses should be felt in your bones! 😀 Just like going from the included mouse to a nice one, it should be hard to go back, unless you're a crazy person that likes mushy keys.

 

[Stg-Flame]

I thank everyone for their input in this thread. It has helped me perfect my build for the budget I was shooting for.

I just ordered my new setup and have called a few retailers who told me they do stock 27" 2560X1440 gaming monitors, so I'll be heading over after work tomorrow night to check out the prices.

Also, I completely forgot about Newegg finance option, so I only paid half price for my computer and plan on dumping the rest next month. This way I can go pick up a brand new monitor the day my rig arrives 😀

Again, thanks for all the information I received.

 

[mfenn]

Glad to help. 🙂 Let us know if you run into any problems during the build.